Religion Blog

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis will establish a commission to advise him on protecting children
from sexually abusive priests and on how the Catholic Church should counsel victims, the Vatican
said yesterday. The announcement signaled the pope’s first concrete step to address the issue.

The timing of the announcement, two days after a U.N. panel criticized the Vatican over its
handling of abuse cases, suggested that the pope and his advisers want to be seen as tackling the
issue.

The announcement was a forthright acknowledgment by the Vatican of the enduring problem of
abusive priests, and it fit with Francis’ pattern of willingness to set a new tone in the
governance of the church. But the announcement also elicited skepticism, particularly among victims
and their advocates, over whether a new commission would address the problems.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, a leading group representing the Christian clerical
hierarchy in the United States, called the pope’s move “a most welcome initiative.” In a statement,
the group said: “Abuse of minors is a sin and a crime, and every step must be taken to eradicate
this blight. Such abuse is especially grave when committed by anyone in ministry in our
church."

At the same time, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, the leading U.S.-based
support group for clergy-abuse victims, known by the acronym SNAP, called the news a disappointment
that reflected badly on the new pope.

David Clohessy, executive director of the group, said the announcement suggested that the
Vatican remained strongly resistant to making sexually abusive members of the clergy and their
church protectors accountable to external criminal prosecution.

Who will serve on the advisory commission and what authority it will have remained unclear. But
Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley, the only American among the eight cardinals advising the pope, said
yesterday that it would include priests, men and women from religious orders, and lay people with
expertise in safeguarding children, and that it would offer advice on pastoral care rather than
judicial functions. That seemed to signal that it would not make proposals for exposing or
punishing abusive clerics.